STANDING RIB ROAST
(Allow 1/2 - 1 pound per serving)
1 standing rib roast, at least 4 pounds
1/4 cup beef broth or water
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
Cooking time varies widely, depending on the shape of the roast and internal temperature. You'll need a meat thermometer.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Place the meat, fat side up, in a shallow open pan and allow it to come to room temperature. Roast for approximately 20 minutes to the pound. Insert a meat thermometer toward the end of the estimated cooking time: the meat is rare at 130 degrees, medium at 140 degrees, and well done at 160 degrees. Remove from the oven when the thermometer registers 5 degrees lower than the desired temperature, and let the roast sit on a carving board while the Yorkshire pudding bakes, if you are making it, and while you make a simple gravy: the roast will continue to cook and become easier to carve. Drain off most of the fat and place the roasting pan over a burner. Add the broth or simply 1/4 cup of water, and stir and scrape with a large kitchen spoon, loosening the brown glaze on the bottom of the pan. Add more liquid if you wish and salt and pepper to taste, and cook over low heat until well blended, about 2 minutes. Spoon over slices of carved beef.
To carve a rib roast: 1. The old-fashioned way has always been to stand the roast on its ribs and carve downward in slices as thin as you wish.
2. The more porfessional method, particularly for a many-ribbed roast and thicker slices, is to lay the roast on its side. First cut along the rib to loosen the meat from the bone, then make horizontal slices.
Rolled Rib Roast Place meat in a V-shaped rack and increase cooking time to approximately 30 minutes to the pound. Allow 1/3 pound per serving. Carve as would Pot Roast.
YORKSHIRE PUDDING
Serves six
1/4 cup roast beef pan drippings
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
First cousin to the popover, this crisp, golden-brown puff is a glorious accompaniment to Roast Beef. Remove the roast from the oven 25 minutes before it is to be served. it's essential that it be cooked in the roast beef fat and drippings, which flavor it so beautifully. The Yorkshire pudding will cook while the roast "rests" and can be brought to the table after you have carved the meat. Turn the oven up to 450 degrees and pour the pan drippings into a 9 X 9-inch pan or an 11 X 7-inch pan. Put the pan in the oven to keep sizzling while you prepare the batter. Combine the eggs, milk, flour, and salt and beat until well blended. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes. Serve piping hot from the baking pan, a generous square with each helping of roast beef.
Copyright © 1996 by Marion Cunningham. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
